13:15, Wednesday, 19th October, 2016
Dr Daaim Shabazz conducted a number of great interviews with African representatives during the 3rd Millionaire Open in Atlantic City. These have just been published on the Chess Drum and can be viewed at http://www.thechessdrum.net/blog/2016/10/18/drum-interviews-16-millionai....
This great image captured Daaim with the 3 winners of the 2016 KCF Africa Satellite tournaments as well as IM Farai Mandizha from Zimbabwe who won an incredible total of $19,000 at the 2015 event in Las Vegas.
This great image captured Daaim with the 3 winners of the 2016 KCF Africa Satellite tournaments as well as IM Farai Mandizha from Zimbabwe who won an incredible total of $19,000 at the 2015 event in Las Vegas.
19:36, Tuesday, 11th October, 2016
The Millionaire Open came to an end in Atlantic City last night and we wish to congratulate GM Dariusz Swiercz who defeated GM Gawain Jones 2-0 in the final to secure the winners cheque of $30,000!
In the u/2550 section GM Ioan-Cristian Chirila defeated GM Oliver Barbosa by a score of 1½-½ in the final while FM Igor Sorkin beat IM Alvaro Escobar by a score of 4-2 to win the u/2400 category.
FM Daniel Anwuli placed 4th in the u/2400 category winning himself $1800 in the process after succumbing by a score of 1½-½
to IM Uriel Vidal in the 3rd/4th place playoff.
IM Oladapo Adu from Nigeria and IM Daniel Jere from Zambia both finished with 4/9 while CM William Wachira from Kenya scored 2/9 and IM Farai Mandizha recorded 3/7 as he did not play on the last day.
We congratulate GM Maurice Ashley and Amy Lee on holding another fantastic event and we sincerely hope that they find a way to keep the dream alive in the future.
In the u/2550 section GM Ioan-Cristian Chirila defeated GM Oliver Barbosa by a score of 1½-½ in the final while FM Igor Sorkin beat IM Alvaro Escobar by a score of 4-2 to win the u/2400 category.
FM Daniel Anwuli placed 4th in the u/2400 category winning himself $1800 in the process after succumbing by a score of 1½-½
to IM Uriel Vidal in the 3rd/4th place playoff.
IM Oladapo Adu from Nigeria and IM Daniel Jere from Zambia both finished with 4/9 while CM William Wachira from Kenya scored 2/9 and IM Farai Mandizha recorded 3/7 as he did not play on the last day.
We congratulate GM Maurice Ashley and Amy Lee on holding another fantastic event and we sincerely hope that they find a way to keep the dream alive in the future.
08:39, Monday, 10th October, 2016
The qualifiers for Millionaire Monday have been decided and we wish to congratulate FM Daniel Anwuli from Nigeria who defeated his second GM level opponent in a row to secure a place in the big playoff for the U/2400 section.
Daniel defeated GM Conrad Holt (2549) with the black places in a match that lasted over 100 moves and will gain 25 rating points from the tournament in addition to having the opportunity to play for a first prize of $12,000 in the playoffs this evening.
In the top section, GM Gawain Jones qualified outright after defeating GM Adhiban in the 7th round and will be joined by
GM Emilio Cordova, GM Dariusz Swiercz and GM Jianchao Zhou who made it through the playoff phase.
It is also interesting to note that IM Daniel Jere from Zambia had earlier held GM Jianchao Zhou to a draw in round 2 before the GM recorded a string of good wins to secure his place in the main event playoff. The winner of the main section will earn $30,000 this whilst second place is worth $15,000.
The full list of qualifiers for the playoffs is now available at
https://millionairechess.com/qualifiers-millionaire-monday.
Daniel defeated GM Conrad Holt (2549) with the black places in a match that lasted over 100 moves and will gain 25 rating points from the tournament in addition to having the opportunity to play for a first prize of $12,000 in the playoffs this evening.
In the top section, GM Gawain Jones qualified outright after defeating GM Adhiban in the 7th round and will be joined by
GM Emilio Cordova, GM Dariusz Swiercz and GM Jianchao Zhou who made it through the playoff phase.
It is also interesting to note that IM Daniel Jere from Zambia had earlier held GM Jianchao Zhou to a draw in round 2 before the GM recorded a string of good wins to secure his place in the main event playoff. The winner of the main section will earn $30,000 this whilst second place is worth $15,000.
The full list of qualifiers for the playoffs is now available at
https://millionairechess.com/qualifiers-millionaire-monday.
09:57, Sunday, 9th October, 2016
At the end of day 3, FM Daniel Anwuli is probably the only African player with a realistic chance of making the U/2400 playoffs after he recorded a good win against GM Alexander Ivanov (2476) in round 6 of the ongoing Millionaire Open in Atlantic City to sit on 3.5/6. He faces GM Conrad Holt (2549) with the black pieces in a critical round 7 game and a second good result may just be enough to see him make the playoffs.
IM Daniel Jere unfortunately fell to GM Mark Paragua (2503) in round 6 and now has a must win match against FM Zhuo Ren Lim (2217) to have any chance of sneaking in through the qualifying playoff process. He has 3/6 at the moment as does IM Farai Mandizha from Zimbabwe.
IM Oladaput Adu did not have a great 3rd day and has 2/6 while CM William Wachira will be pleased with his second win against Francisco Alonso Jr. Mesa which has also taken him to 2/6.
Round 7 will be followed by the Rapid and Blitz qualification playoffs this evening which will select the players who will participate in the large money games on Monday.
Latest standings and pairings are published at
https://millionairechess.com/mc3-leaderboard/open/results
IM Daniel Jere unfortunately fell to GM Mark Paragua (2503) in round 6 and now has a must win match against FM Zhuo Ren Lim (2217) to have any chance of sneaking in through the qualifying playoff process. He has 3/6 at the moment as does IM Farai Mandizha from Zimbabwe.
IM Oladaput Adu did not have a great 3rd day and has 2/6 while CM William Wachira will be pleased with his second win against Francisco Alonso Jr. Mesa which has also taken him to 2/6.
Round 7 will be followed by the Rapid and Blitz qualification playoffs this evening which will select the players who will participate in the large money games on Monday.
Latest standings and pairings are published at
https://millionairechess.com/mc3-leaderboard/open/results
06:32, Saturday, 8th October, 2016
The 2016 Millionaire Open has already reached round 4 and the next 2 days will be critical to determining who gets to participate in the all important Monday playoffs for the big prizes.
IM Daniel Jere started well with a win in the first round before holding GM Jianchao Zhou (2630) and IM Andrey Gorovets (2543) to draws in rounds 2 and 3. He lost to GM Oliver Barbosa (2515) in round 4 but still finds himself well positioned on 2/4 for the moment.
IM Oladapu Adu has recorded losses against GM Eduardo Iturrizaga Bonelli (2658) and GCT commentator GM Alejandro Ramirez (2568) but defeated his two lower rated opponents to join Daniel on 2/4.
CM William Wachira pulled off a nice win in round 4 against Matthew Tedesco and is currently on 1/4.
Other notable African players that are participating include FM Daniel Anwuli from Nigeria (2/4), IM Farai Mandizha from Zimbabwe (1.5/4), and Daaim Shabazz (author of the well known ChessDrum website) who has 2/4 in U/2200 section. IA Purity Maina from Kenya is also at the tournament as one of the official arbiters.
All photos below are from the official tournament photographer David Lada.
The pairings and results are available at https://millionairechess.com/mc3-leaderboard/open/results while the games from the top 12 boards are being broadcast daily at https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/millionaire-chess-2016-ope...
IM Daniel Jere started well with a win in the first round before holding GM Jianchao Zhou (2630) and IM Andrey Gorovets (2543) to draws in rounds 2 and 3. He lost to GM Oliver Barbosa (2515) in round 4 but still finds himself well positioned on 2/4 for the moment.
IM Oladapu Adu has recorded losses against GM Eduardo Iturrizaga Bonelli (2658) and GCT commentator GM Alejandro Ramirez (2568) but defeated his two lower rated opponents to join Daniel on 2/4.
CM William Wachira pulled off a nice win in round 4 against Matthew Tedesco and is currently on 1/4.
Other notable African players that are participating include FM Daniel Anwuli from Nigeria (2/4), IM Farai Mandizha from Zimbabwe (1.5/4), and Daaim Shabazz (author of the well known ChessDrum website) who has 2/4 in U/2200 section. IA Purity Maina from Kenya is also at the tournament as one of the official arbiters.
All photos below are from the official tournament photographer David Lada.
The pairings and results are available at https://millionairechess.com/mc3-leaderboard/open/results while the games from the top 12 boards are being broadcast daily at https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/millionaire-chess-2016-ope...
20:08, Wednesday, 5th October, 2016
The 3rd Millionaire Chess Open will get under way tomorrow morning in Atlantic City and we want to wish the 3 KCF Satellite winners the best of luck as they take on some of the worlds best players in the tournament.
Chessbase has just published a great interview with GM Maurice Ashley and we are proud to have partnered with the MC franchise over the last 2 years to make opportunities like this available to more African players.
We wish IM Daniel Jere, IM Oladapu Adu and CM Wachania Wachira the best of luck at the tournament and we will be following their progress with interest.
The Chessbase interview makes for interesting reading and is available at http://en.chessbase.com/post/millionaire-chess-an-interview-with-maurice...
Chessbase has just published a great interview with GM Maurice Ashley and we are proud to have partnered with the MC franchise over the last 2 years to make opportunities like this available to more African players.
We wish IM Daniel Jere, IM Oladapu Adu and CM Wachania Wachira the best of luck at the tournament and we will be following their progress with interest.
The Chessbase interview makes for interesting reading and is available at http://en.chessbase.com/post/millionaire-chess-an-interview-with-maurice...
16:34, Wednesday, 5th October, 2016
The brochure for the 2016 Tanzania Open has just been released and the event is set to build from the 2015 edition which was won by IM Elijah Emojong from Uganda.
The Open Section is FIDE rated and will take place in Dar es Salaam from the 11th - 13th November. It will be played over 6 rounds at a rate of 90/90 + 30 seconds per move.
Foreign players over 2200 are being offered free accommodation and breakfast while players over 2000 will qualify for free entry.
The full tournament brochure is available for download at http://www.kcfafrica.com/en/content/forthcoming-events-0
whilst low cost airline FastJet is currently offering excellent rates for inbound flights to Tanzania. These can be accessed at http://www.fastjet.com/za/en/
Players who are interested in playing should contact the tournament director, Mr Nurdin Hassuji to book their places as well as accommodation as required.
The Open Section is FIDE rated and will take place in Dar es Salaam from the 11th - 13th November. It will be played over 6 rounds at a rate of 90/90 + 30 seconds per move.
Foreign players over 2200 are being offered free accommodation and breakfast while players over 2000 will qualify for free entry.
The full tournament brochure is available for download at http://www.kcfafrica.com/en/content/forthcoming-events-0
whilst low cost airline FastJet is currently offering excellent rates for inbound flights to Tanzania. These can be accessed at http://www.fastjet.com/za/en/
Players who are interested in playing should contact the tournament director, Mr Nurdin Hassuji to book their places as well as accommodation as required.
13:14, Tuesday, 4th October, 2016
The October Ratings have been released and as expected there were some significant changes as a result of the participation of many African federations in the Chess Olympiad in Baku.
The biggest climber was Somalia who rose 14 places in the world rankings while Mozambique and Ethiopia fell 17 and 13 places respectively.
New entrants to the rating list include both Gambia and Cabo Verde who were granted full membership during the General Assembly meeting in Baku. In addition, Tanzania became the 25th African country to register a female rated player with Fena Gwamwamba securing the honor of becoming the countries first rated female.
In terms of number of rated players, Sao Tome & Principe were the biggest gainers this month and the Island Federation has now risen to 30th in the list of countries with most rated players.
The fact that less than 20 African federations have in excess of 20 FIDE rated players remains a major concern and there is still a lot of work to do to improve this situation moving forward. Only Egypt, South Africa, Algeria, Morocco and Kenya currently have more than 200 rated players and these 5 countries account for more than 56% of all FIDE rated players on the African continent.
Changes to the individual lists were somewhat less dramatic then expected with most of the top players remaining fairly unchanged this month. GM Hicham Hamdouchi did made a welcome return to the rating list however and has returned to the number one ranked player in zone 4.1.
Full analysis for October is now published as usual at http://www.kcfafrica.com/en/content/country-statistics
The biggest climber was Somalia who rose 14 places in the world rankings while Mozambique and Ethiopia fell 17 and 13 places respectively.
New entrants to the rating list include both Gambia and Cabo Verde who were granted full membership during the General Assembly meeting in Baku. In addition, Tanzania became the 25th African country to register a female rated player with Fena Gwamwamba securing the honor of becoming the countries first rated female.
In terms of number of rated players, Sao Tome & Principe were the biggest gainers this month and the Island Federation has now risen to 30th in the list of countries with most rated players.
The fact that less than 20 African federations have in excess of 20 FIDE rated players remains a major concern and there is still a lot of work to do to improve this situation moving forward. Only Egypt, South Africa, Algeria, Morocco and Kenya currently have more than 200 rated players and these 5 countries account for more than 56% of all FIDE rated players on the African continent.
Changes to the individual lists were somewhat less dramatic then expected with most of the top players remaining fairly unchanged this month. GM Hicham Hamdouchi did made a welcome return to the rating list however and has returned to the number one ranked player in zone 4.1.
Full analysis for October is now published as usual at http://www.kcfafrica.com/en/content/country-statistics
10:49, Saturday, 24th September, 2016
We are pleased to announce that we have recently received a new shipment of chess equipment from our international suppliers. In addition to our standard KCF branded boards and sets, we are now also able to offer both DGT and LEAP clocks at excellent prices.
The clocks now available include the brand new LEAP PQ9912, as well as the older LEAP model PQ9903A which is now being offered at a special price of R500 (including VAT).
The recent strength of the Rand has allowed us to secure stock at excellent prices and we have updated the equipment page on our website to reflect the latest items we have in stock.
Any individuals interested in ordering equipment may do so by downloading the order form from our website at http://www.kcfafrica.com/en/content/equipment. Delivery can be arranged throughout Southern Africa where required.
Prices for all equipment are listed on the main at the link above.
The clocks now available include the brand new LEAP PQ9912, as well as the older LEAP model PQ9903A which is now being offered at a special price of R500 (including VAT).
The recent strength of the Rand has allowed us to secure stock at excellent prices and we have updated the equipment page on our website to reflect the latest items we have in stock.
Any individuals interested in ordering equipment may do so by downloading the order form from our website at http://www.kcfafrica.com/en/content/equipment. Delivery can be arranged throughout Southern Africa where required.
Prices for all equipment are listed on the main at the link above.
14:29, Tuesday, 13th September, 2016
Congratulations are due to team USA (Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Wesley So, Sam Shankland and Ray Robson) who have just been confirmed as the gold medal winners at the 2016 World Chess Olympiad in Baku. Also to team China (Hou Yifan, Ju Wenjun, Zhao Xue, Tan Zhongyi and Guo Qi) who won the ladies gold medal.
Final standings
Open
1. USA
2. Ukraine
3. Russia
Ladies
1. China
2. Poland
3. Ukraine
Final standings are now available at http://www.chess-results.com/tnr232875.aspx?lan=-1
Final standings
Open
1. USA
2. Ukraine
3. Russia
Ladies
1. China
2. Poland
3. Ukraine
Final standings are now available at http://www.chess-results.com/tnr232875.aspx?lan=-1